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Townie Tidbits

Well, I had a great time at the Bunker Hill Day Parade on Father’s Day. It seems like a great twofer. One time the parade was almost never held on Father’s Day when it actually took p;lace only on the Seventeenth of June but since moving to the Sunday before the holiday, the two great days become one.

This year’s weather was perfect. It doesn’t get any better. A great day to be a Townie, celebrating your roots =and loving the neighborhood you call home. I met many old friends and as usual made new ones along the route.

This year I marched with my old friend Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins and handed out it seemed hundreds of gold deputy badges to the kiddos and some older kiddos. I reminded all the kids to make sure they kept the badges in their wallets in case they ever get stopped while driving. The kids didn’t understand the joke but parents did.

STEVE SWEENEY ALWAYS A TOWNIE

This year I got a double dose of Steve Sweeney. First in Southie on Flag Day at the Curley Community Center as the guest speaker at the South Boston Arts Association monthly meeting ands then the following morning at the pre-parade breakfast hosted by the Bunker Hill Associates. Some of the stuff was the same but other material meant only for Townie ears.

I had to laugh as I saw the posters around Southie for his appearance at the SBAA meeting. Right on it says “and for God’s sake…He’s a Townie.” You’ll always see him wearing that Charlestown Townies baseball cap too.

CAUGHT UP WITH MIKE CHARBONNIER IN EASTIE

I was attending a Kiwanis Club meeting in East Boston last week where newly appointed BPD Superintendent in Chief Will Gross was guest speaker when I see Sgt. Mike Charbonnier walking in next to Gross. We talked about how great the parade was and he commented I was all over the place taking parade photos when I wasn’t passing out those badges from Sheriff Tompkins. I like Supt. Will Gross. He understands the importance of community policing and he has a good sense of humor probably from his younger days growing up down in the countryside of Hillsboro, Maryland.

KUDOS TO THE TOWNIE ASSOCIATION

It was good to see recently as Charlestown’s younger citizens have taken a public and positive stance for Charlestown. The Charlestown Townie Association has become in a short time a most needed activist community group getting involved in making Charlestown a good place to live and grow. It is as vital to the community as the Bunker Hill Association has been going on 30 years now.

The Charlestown Seal created in 1847 after Charlestown became a city has a motto inscribed on it stating, “Liberty- A Trust to be Transmitted to posterity.” Here where the fight for liberty and independence began, we still have plenty of Townies not only concerned about yesterday or today but about tomorrow too. It is called TOWNIE PRIDE.